Estes Red Flare E2X kit

The Estes Red Flare E2X kit was released a few months back.

It uses the plastic parts from the Maxi Alpha 3 just molded in a different color (black) with prism body tubes.

The only modification I made to the kit was to substitute a piece of heavier/thicker walled Centuri/Semroc ST-9 tubing for the kit supplied BT-50 motor mount tube. I can see myself flying this model many times and I have worn out the stock BT-50 motor mount tube in my previous Maxi Alpha 3 model.

The model had it's first flight at the SCRA launch in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 24th.

The flight on a D12-5 was low and slow but without incident.

Do you assemble this rocket using the same steps and procedures as the Maxi Alpha III? The reason I ask is that the MAIII is not labeled E2X. I expected the Red Flare would come even more finished than the MAIII.

I have a MAIII, and it is not my favorite kit. Fins are flimsy plastic, and I don't like working with plastic cement. However, it does end up being one of the rockets I fly most often. It does great on D12s and E12s. Flights are nice and the rocket is big. One of the best things about it is that I am not really bonded with it, so I am more willing to risk it if conditions are not perfect. So the build and quality are not great, but owning the rocket has been very very satisfying. I'm actually thinking the Red Flare might be good for a nephew of mine who really doesn't care much about building rockets, but likes to "Fly them like you don't want them back."

Estes model rocketry is recommended for ages 10 and up with adult supervision for those under 12. Unless otherwise specified, all models require assembly.

Robot Vacuum

I entered "red flare" at Amazon and this is what came up:
View attachment 143564
Doesn't look E2X to me!

Rich Holmes said:

I entered "red flare" at Amazon and this is what came up:
View attachment 143564
Doesn't look E2X to me!

Click to expand...

The trouble with this one is the maintenance.